The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1887-08-13

I y.
WASHINGTON, Aug Land Commissioner
Z Spark, In refusing tu recognize the suiciEncy
OF the field notes taken BY UHiten Slater en-
I gineers prior TO tlfe swamp NV acts has dc
/ layeGl the issuance OF scrip to the State OF
Louisiana by causing her tp 20 INTO the feid
and seek additional testimony nttE action
| by Mr.. Sparks, regarded as that Of a Jealous
officer anxious 70 protect the Interests o. the
! government, Wasn0topen to serious crit etsn,
although itTevaHsed a principle recognized
| by Dir. Sparks predecessors, and put Sue
State to "a great deal Of trouble.
/ Another case has Just been brought 10 the
I attention Of the Times Democrat correspond
ent which is much more serious, and which
taken in connection with the swamp land
matter, shows a strange hostility to the peo-
pie of Louisiana.
Some fifty orHeixty cases were brought up
to the General lsand Office from the Natchl-
toches district, all Of them being applications
for the issuance of scrip. From among these
cases the attorneys selected nine which coy
cred all the questions involved and Wnich
/ were, therefore, made test cases. These nine
were passed upon by Mr.. Sparks adversely ~
the claimants, and appeals were taken TO 'asta
Secretary of the Interior. Bir. Lamar, as ne
.usally does with q large majority OF the I'M
portaut cases before him on appeal from tlie
General Land Commissioner, reversed the
/ decisions and instructed Mr. Sparks to issue
| der Mr.. Sparks, of course, had nothing to do
but give instructions accordingly.
In the natural course of the routine business
of the office, the remaining forty Or htty
cases were brought to Mr.. Sparks. The law
clerks and the chiefs Of division, following
the established usage of the Office, had drawn
uprthe papers in these cases in conformity
with principles laid down by the Secretary in
| his decision Of the nine test cases, and con
seuuently in favor of issuing the scrip. But
| Mr. Sparks refnaedtO sign them, and aftoT
keeping them on his desk for ten days, he
returned them to the chief of division with
instructions to hold them until he sent for
them.
The attorneys for claimants, after waiting
some little time, called upon Alr. Sparks and
asked him why he did not pass upon the pa
| peT6 He replied that he was not ready that
he wanted to look into them The attorneys
then showed him that there was nothing for
| him to look into as the questions at issue had
been definitely decided by the Secretary, But
it was no use F.; Mr.. Sparks would not touch
them, even when the attorney said they did
not care whether he passed upon them ad-
| Yersely or moi, eas both they and he knew that
| If he decided them adversely the Secretary
would reverse his decision.
AS the matter now stands the cases are
blocked. OF course, they cannot get up to
the Secretary unless on appeal, and Mr
Sparks will not make decision which can
| be appealed IRON. The cases in the mean
| time have lost their position in the regular
course Of business. They are at what might
be called the end Of the docket with the
difference that the chief Of division has posi-
tive orders not to bring them up until they
arc sent for II Mr. Sparks decided these
cases in accordance with the Secretary's in
structiOns in the test cases, script wOuld be
issued nj once If be decided contrary to
these instructions his decisiOnIwOuld be re
Versed in sixty days and script ordered to be
issued. So he knows that which ever way he
| decides the claimants will get their due, and
that he can only block Justice by inactiOn.
In a short time q mandatory proceeding
will probably be taken to the Secretary, com
pellinC the commissioner to show cause why
he does not pass upon the cases.